Rockville Centre letters to the editor

Posted
Thursday, October 4, 2012 10:33 am

Romney would take us backward

To the Editor:

As a father of four and grandfather of five, and as someone keenly interested in the state of our nation, I got to thinking about what a future Romney administration (or two) might offer. Like so many others in Rockville Centre, I am concerned about the America our children and their kids will inherit. Reviewing the Republican platform and its candidate’s pronouncements left me concerned.

Scuttling health care for tens of millions, including our children in their early 20s who are living at home and our parents in nursing homes, seems indefensible. While a policy of “deregulation” may look bold and liberating, has recent history encouraged us to place much faith in the motives and actions of an unregulated private sector? Why put the water we drink, the air we breathe and the food we consume at risk?

Do we really want food assistance and student loans to be cut sharply, along with unemployment benefits and research funding, even as the defense budget swells? A Romney administration would surely encourage additional cutbacks in federal and state employees and continue the pressure on public service workers and their unions.

Meanwhile, the Republican social agenda will gain momentum and threaten the advances made by women (a troubling situation, as I have three daughters and four granddaughters) and other groups long marginalized. Appointments to the higher federal bench, including the Supreme Court, will lock in a mindset that is out of step with a majority of Americans.

Romney and the Republicans strongly imply that our society (and by extension, the world) could benefit from a heavy dose of tough love. Romney’s policies will assuredly be tough on tens of millions of Americans — actually even more if we consider the implications of his “47 percent” remarks. On the other hand, try finding anything like love, caring or compassion in his proposals.

There’s good reason to be concerned about the future no matter who wins. Still, to my mind, Governor Romney’s proposals represent a disturbing step backward, and cannot bring us to the place where we need to be.

Richard Skolnik

Rockville Centre

Break the puppy mill cycle

To the Editor:

On a recent trip to a local mall, I was upset to see yet another puppy store.

It is very important that people stop buying puppies from pet stores. According to the ASPCA and the Humane Society, almost all puppies that are sold over the Internet or in pet stores come from puppy mills. This particular store claims that its puppies come from “certified USDA licensed dealers,” but I recently discovered that the USDA has about 70 inspectors to deal with thousands of breeding facilities, the regulations are lax and when fines are imposed, they’re often negotiated down and don’t make any impact.

A puppy from a USDA-licensed facility just gives the customer a false sense that the puppy is from a “good place,” when in reality, most of these places would break your heart. I also learned that the American Kennel Club emblem that pet stores display is meaningless. It simply shows that the AKC is aware that these dogs exist.

I encourage anyone looking for a dog to consider adopting from a local shelter, such as the Town of Hempstead Animal Shelter, Rescue Ink in Long Beach, the North Shore Animal League or one of the many others in our area. If you’re looking for a particular breed, check out www.petfinder.org.

Another option is to contact a breed-specific rescue organization. A relative of mine got a great wheaten terrier from a rescue group a few years ago. It was fully trained and turned into an amazing family pet.

For personal reasons, our family opted to deal with a breeder a few years ago. We got a beautiful, healthy, black cocker spaniel. We paid less than we would have at a pet store. We got to meet the breeder, our pup’s little siblings and, most important, her healthy, well-cared-for parents. The breeder wanted to meet us. We were interviewed by the breeder and were told that if we ever needed to give our pup up, she would take her back.

People often think they’re “rescuing” a puppy when they buy from a pet store, but the dogs that need rescuing are the parents in the puppy mills. The only way to do this is to stop the cycle. No responsible breeder allows a pet store to sell their precious puppies. If we all stop giving our business to pet shops that sell puppies, the inhumane mass breeding operations that supply them will eventually have to go out of business.

Karin Johnson

Rockville Centre

She’s with Kremer

To the Editor:

I never send emails to comment on articles I’ve read, but Jerry Kremer’s column (“How in the world would Republicans move us forward?” Sept. 20-26) moved me to action. He managed to make the easiest, most informed and honest statement of truth on the subject of our miserable government. The Republicans are nasty and hateful and the worst choice for getting us back on track.

I can’t believe so many Americans are buying into this hogwash of misrepresentations. I know President Obama isn’t perfect, but given all the help from across the aisle he hasn’t gotten, who knows what he could have accomplished?

Cable politics today is all about media making money on the divisiveness of our two-party system. It’s like the attention given to accident victims after a crash on the highway: Traffic is tied up for hours due to rubbernecking. Our ignorant and ill-informed population buys into the outrageous nonsense put forth to propagate this media money machine.

Bill Clinton’s speech at the Democratic convention (and a later appearance on Jon Stewart’s “Daily Show”) was the only real common-sense explanation of what needed to be said. Thank you so much, Jerry, for being one of the truth-sayers.